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Qualitative content analysis of 74 novels featuring public relations characters distributed in the United States demonstrates that, rather than attempting to replicate reality, the mystery genre reflects debates about such issues as honesty, confidentiality, and the relative value of negative publicity. PR practitioners fit into all of the conventional mystery character roles, but particularly the role of sleuth, where access to information and powerful people allows them to solve the mystery but also sometimes forces them to choose between the client/employer and the public interest. The study confirms Fitch's (2015) contention that popular culture representations of public relations are best understood in their narrative and generic context. • Proximity to power makes public relations characters relevant to the mystery genre. • PR characters must balance client confidentiality with the public interest. • Fictional representations reveal that public relations is a contested field. • Mystery novels reveal a deep distrust of powerful institutions and people. • Fictional representations do not attempt to reflect the field accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hispanic or Latina/o community is an important and growing part of the economy, culture, and politics of the United States. As such, public relations professionals need to be knowledgeable about and responsive to the needs of Hispanic or Latina/o publics. Despite a growing emphasis on diversity and inclusion in the field of public relations, research on Hispanic public relations (HPR) remains largely unexplored. To address this gap, the present study conducted a Delphi panel with 17 experts in HPR in the U.S. The panel used a multi-iteration and consensus-building approach to evaluate different aspects of HPR, including the state of the profession, the competencies required to practice HPR effectively, the value of incorporating HPR courses into academic curricula, and strategies for recruiting and retaining HPR students. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for public relations scholars, educators, and industry leaders. By examining the current state of HPR and identifying key issues and challenges, this study contributes to a better understanding of the profession and its potential for growth and development. By highlighting the importance of HPR education and training, this study also offers practical guidance for those interested in advancing the field of HPR. • Delphi panel with 17 experts in Hispanic PR evaluated key aspects of the field. • Provides insights for PR scholars, educators, and industry leaders. • Examines the state of Hispanic PR, competencies required, and strategies for recruiting students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an empirical effort to explore the public relations potential of AI-enabled technologies such as chatbots, this study examined how chatbot social conversation—a communication strategy that encompasses both social presence and conversational human voice and is conceptualized in consideration of chatbots' mediated communication environment—can contribute to organization-public relational outcomes (i.e., OPRs). To understand how this process works, we incorporate the personification approach to organizations, and also investigate the impact of chatbot social conversation in shaping public perceptions of corporate character (i.e., agreeableness, enterprise, competence, and ruthlessness). A survey of 778 Facebook users in the United States was conducted, where participants were randomly assigned to have a guided conversation with an AI-enabled social chatbot utilized by real companies on Facebook. Results confirm that chatbot social conversation can serve as a strong antecedent of the corporate character of the organization that deployed it and OPRs. Perceived corporate character also directly influences the quality of OPRs, demonstrating the potential of using AI-enabled social chatbots for public relations purposes. • This study examined how chatbot social conversation can contribute to organization-public relationships (OPRs). • It also investigates the impact of chatbot social conversation in shaping public perceptions of corporate character. • An online survey was conducted with 778 Facebook users who had a guided conversation with an AI-enabled social chatbot. • Results showed that chatbot social conversation served as a strong antecedent of corporate character and OPRs. • Perceived corporate character also directly influenced the quality of OPRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Press agentry was a profit motivated media relations practice. • Press agents were not exclusively an unethical PR antecedent. • American press agents worked in a variety of sectors during the 19th century. • Press agentry was a sophisticated practice that utilized multiple strategies. • U.S. press was ambivalent toward 19th century press agents. Analysis of press coverage of nineteenth century American press agents indicates that, although press agents worked in a variety of sectors, their primary motivation was profit, their main strategy was media relations, and their tactics often relied on hype or outright lying. These characteristics would appear to support previous descriptions of press agentry, yet the research also shows that the press was more ambivalent toward press agents than previously assumed and that press agents' strategies and tactics may have been more sophisticated than previously understood. A number of early practitioners of press agentry are identified for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Addressing health disparities requires both community engagement and an understanding of the social determinants of health. Although elements of the built environment can influence behavior change in public health interventions, such determinants have not been explicitly teased out via participatory mapping. An opportunity exists to integrate community voice in the development of such metrics. To fill this gap and inform the deployment of public health interventions in the Flint (USA) Center for Health Equity Solutions (FCHES), we created a means of assessing spatially-varying community needs and assets in a geographic information system (GIS), what we refer to as a healthfulness index. We engaged community and academic partners in their expert opinions on features of Flint's built environment that may promote or inhibit healthy behaviors via a multiple-criteria decision analysis framework. Experts selected from and ranked 29 variables in 6 categories (including amenities, environment, greenspace, housing, infrastructure, and social issues) using the analytic hierarchy process. The resulting matrices of expert opinions were aggregated and appended as weights for each variable's corresponding map layer. When combined through map algebra, composite scores yield spatially-varying healthfulness indices which signal any neighborhood's relative health promoting qualities (along a 0–100 scale). Results varied substantially across Flint, with the middle belt scoring highest and older neighborhoods in the northeast and north center of the city scoring lowest. Scores were aggregated to 38 Flint neighborhoods; for each of two project-specific indices, these ranged from lows of 38.7 (Hilborn Park) and 41.8 (Columbia Heights) to highs of 52.9 (College Cultural) and 58.0 (University Ave Corridor). We hypothesize that—even when controlling for individual-level factors—we will measure better and more sustained behavior change among participants living in neighborhoods with high healthfulness scores. Future work will examine this hypothesis and determine the importance of such indices in other similar communities. Highlights • Community and academic partners engaged in participatory mapping/decision-making. • Their perspectives informed variable weights in a composite GIS index. • This index yielded neighborhood-level variations in health promoting qualities. • These 'healthfulness' scores are hypothesized to influence behavior change. • Healthfulness scores will be used as covariates in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine trends in the financial relationship between biomedical companies and leaders in urologic education during the first 3 full calendar years since implementation of the Sunshine Act.Methods: All accredited American Urological Association (AUA) residency programs were identified using the AUA website. Urology program directors and department chairs of the affiliated institutions were identified using residency program or urology department websites. Urology journal editors who practice in the United States were identified using the SCImago Journal & Country Rank website. All identified individuals were categorized by urologic subspecialty and AUA region based on information stated on their corresponding websites. Payment data for each individual from 2014 to 2016 was accessed using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payments website, and statistical analyses were performed to elucidate trends based on leadership position, urologic specialty, AUA region, payment type, and overall payments over time.Results: Out of the 239 urologists identified, 85%, 78%, and 91% received some sort of payment in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. Department chairs accepted payments more readily than program directors and journal editors in all years. Average total payments for all urologists increased yearly, with mean general payments trending down and mean research payments trending up.Conclusion: The Sunshine Act was passed in part to promote transparency of the physician-industry relationship. Though the proportion of urologic leaders accepting payments between 2014 and 2016 did not change significantly, increased public scrutiny could have contributed to the decrease in yearly general payments and the increase in yearly research payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In California, half of pregnant women and children are on California's Medicaid (Medi-Cal). The Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking program provided incentives to adults on Medi-Cal to call the California Smokers Helpline (Helpline) from March 2012 to July 2015. This analysis examined reach of the Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking program among pregnant and parenting women.Methods: This study examined caller data from the Helpline from 2010 to 2015 among women of reproductive age (18-45 years) enrolled in Medi-Cal (n=32,691; analyzed in 2017/2018). The authors calculated the annual percentage of the target population reached who called the Helpline by pregnancy status and used adjusted prevalence ratios to examine the associations between Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking incentive period, pregnancy/parenting status, Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking incentives ($20 gift card and nicotine patch), and counseling.Results: Over the study period, the percentage of the target population reached increased for women of reproductive age (2.1% in 2011 to 3.0% in 2014) and pregnant women (2.1% in 2011 to 3.3% in 2014). The percentage of women who asked for the $20 gift card (13.6%) was not substantially different by pregnancy status, and WIC and nonprofits were important referral sources. Pregnant women were less likely to receive nicotine patches, but there was a 3- to 4-fold increase during the Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking incentive period for both pregnant and nonpregnant women. Among nonpregnant women, counseling decreased 14% during the Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking incentive period.Conclusions: Results suggest that the nicotine patch incentives motivated women to call the Helpline, even pregnant women who needed a physician's approval consistent with current American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists cautions about the appropriateness of the patch during pregnancy.Supplement Information: This article is part of a supplement entitled Advancing Smoking Cessation in California's Medicaid Population, which is sponsored by the California Department of Public Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Asian male immigrants have high smoking rates. This article describes outreach approaches in the Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking project to incentivize California Medicaid (Medi-Cal) calls to the California Smokers' Helpline (Helpline) Asian-language lines.Methods: Outreach efforts adapted Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking materials for the Asian-language lines. Community-based efforts included outreach at ethnic supermarkets and distribution through community networks. Leveraging the Helpline's Asian print media campaign, three press releases promoted Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Smoking with Lunar New Year or community physician messaging. Medi-Cal all-household mailings with tracking codes also included the Asian-language lines. Helpline caller characteristics and trends were examined for project period 2012-2015. Analyses were conducted in 2018.Results: Among 4,306 Asian American Pacific Islander Medi-Cal callers, there were 37% Asian-speaking Asian Americans (9.5% Chinese, 17.2% Vietnamese, and 10.5% Korean); 44% English-speaking Asian Americans; 9% Pacific Islanders; and 10% Asian American Pacific Islander not otherwise specified. Almost 10% of Asian-speaking Asian Americans were activated by the financial incentive and this was similar for all-household mailings, although this was lower than the other groups. Medi-Cal calls to the Asian-language lines increased, from an average of 18 calls/month to 47 calls/month (162% increase) in the first and last 12 project months respectively. Community outreach was limited by timing and sustainability. The 3-month call totals before and after the Asian-language press releases were significantly greater for Asian-speaking calls than for English-speaking calls (Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel p<0.001, OR=1.70, 95% CI=1.45, 1.99).Conclusions: Whereas community outreach is challenging, promising population-based methods for in-language, culturally tailored outreach can include press releases with ethnic media and direct-to-member mailings.Supplement Information: This article is part of a supplement entitled Advancing Smoking Cessation in California's Medicaid Population, which is sponsored by the California Department of Public Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order that attempted to bar citizens and refugees from seven countries from entering the U.S. for a certain time period. One of the contexts most directly affected by this order was higher education. This study examined college and university communicative responses to the order from a public relations perspective. We qualitatively determined a range of responses from U.S. universities then quantitatively determined variables of particular colleges and universities that had a correlation to the nature of the responses. Responses were then assessed using public relations best practices. The data suggest variables with relationships to type of institutional response were number of international students and political stance of the state where the institution is located. While there was no single “correct” type of response, best practices suggest two options for appropriate responses to the order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of people in the U.S. volunteer, and understanding how organizations can retain and deepen relationships with these individuals is critical to the sustainability of the nonprofit sector. The relationship maintenance strategies of stewardship may help nonprofit organizations strengthen relationships with their volunteers, particularly if organizations are able to influence volunteers’ feelings of involvement. An online survey of volunteers was conducted to see the relationships between stewardship, involvement, and organization-public relationship (OPR) outcomes. Our path analysis model indicates that stewardship strategies can positively contribute to volunteers’ involvement and their evaluations of OPR outcomes. One of the few to test this model, this study contributes new theory to public relations literature and better informs the practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining whether visuals improve publics’ crisis and disaster information comprehension is scarce despite the increasing popularity of infographics and visual-based social media in public relations practice. One disaster communication platform that is ideal for testing the potential effects of visuals on helping publics protect themselves during disasters is Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs). WEAs are 90-character warnings issued by governments and sent by wireless carriers to individuals (for free) facing an imminent threat such as a tornado or flood. The U.S. government is considering adding maps to future WEAs. Maps are one of the most relied-on tools for people to quickly gain knowledge about spatial tasks such as evacuating during disasters. Consequently, this paper empirically tests how at-risk publics respond to warning messages with and without maps. We do so through two experiments ( N 1 = 767, N 2 = 550) of U.S. adults testing three disasters: a tsunami, an active shooter incident, and a radiological disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains how the European right to be forgotten violates the free flow of information in society, as evidenced by conflicts with the United States Constitution and ethical principles of professional communicators worldwide. As Europe imposes new data protection laws and incorporates the right to be forgotten that promotes censorship through search engine de-linking, United States constitutional law scholars ponder the implications of World Wide Web censorship, while journalists and public relations professionals struggle to understand how accurate transparent communication could occur in an ecosystem that allows for arbitrary information removal and the creation of memory holes. This article explains why the European notion of the right to be forgotten challenges U.S. constitutional law and professional public relations ethics, imperiling the online marketplace of ideas and eroding disclosure of information. The European Data Protection Directive and recent right to be forgotten movements directly conflict with the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and professional communications ethics codes. The First Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights indicates the specific rights of citizens to freedom from government intervention into freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Recent actions by Google to honor European requests to remove data upon request collide with First Amendment theoretical concepts and contemporary constitutional law. Both the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) construct ethical principles for members that call for the active promotion of the free flow of information and the ethical disclosure of information. The European Data Protection Directive’s right to be forgotten silences these core professional communication ethics and more significantly imperils the robust information exchange in a global society, ultimately altering the discourse and debate in democratic countries. This paper addresses the status of the right to be forgotten in the United States and indicates how adopting such a provision in the United States would violate First Amendment theories, as evidenced by the Marketplace of Ideas Theory, the Meiklejohnian Theory, and the Absolutist Theory, and would counter traditional public relations ethics codes, conducted in a context of dialogic ethics that calls for adherence to core values advocating for transparency, disclosure, and free flow of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designed to investigate the trends, patterns and rigors of research studies examining global public relations, this study conducted a content analysis of published articles in public relations journals as well as other communication journals between 2001 and 2014. During this time span, a total of 163 articles examined topics related to global public relations. Information including journal name, publication year, country examined, authorship, theoretical application, method approach, and future research direction was recorded for each article. Given the steady increase in the number of articles addressing global public relations during the timeframe examined, the field should shift from description to theorization and establish theories specific to global public relations with methodological diversification. The United States was the nation of most frequent focus in the articles, followed by China, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the roots of public relations (PR) in Portugal, which for the last three decades have been consensually placed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It argues that such a historical paradigm is contradicted by thorough archival research and needs to be revised. In fact the origins of PR activities can be traced back as far as the 1900s, having evolved initially under the terms of propaganda and press relations, with no apparent influence from the United States (U.S.). The specific term and the concept of PR arrived in Portugal only in the 1910s and matured from the 1930s to the late 1940s. They were first imported from the U.S., where in 1915 a Portuguese professor witnessed the PR activities carried out by the agricultural system. However, the modern concept, theory and practice of PR were mostly influenced by the United Kingdom (U.K.). The connecting link was The Anglo-Portuguese Telephone Co. Ltd. (APT), which pioneered the development of PR in Portugal. It directly benefited from the PR work that Basil Clarke did for a British pressure group whose chairman also managed APT. Regarding PR historiography this paper reinforces the thesis that PR developed in Europe independently from the U.S. tradition and long before World War II. It also places Portugal among the first European countries where PR emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, two United States hospitals faced the challenges and uncertainties associated with treating Ebola patients. With varying levels of preparation, the outcomes for Emory University Hospital and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas were vastly different. Emory successfully treated four patients, whereas Texas Health was caught off guard by an Ebola patient’s arrival, resulting in the patient’s misdiagnosis and death, as well as the infection of two nurses. Drawing from issues management and actional legitimacy, this study uses organizational and media reports to examine how these two organizations planned for and responded to the Ebola risk. Findings emphasize the need for healthcare organizations to maintain vigilant in monitoring their environments to promptly address any potential risks in an effort to prevent or alleviate crises. Should a crisis manifest, health communicators must provide quick, accurate, and consistent statements to maintain credibility, reassure publics, and reduce public anxiety about the health risk while simultaneously protecting the organization’s reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the United States popular press’ representation of publicity and information bureaux from 1891 to 1918. Specifically this study discusses these bureaux’ relationship with the press, use by governments, role in political campaigns, and function within non-profit organizations. Publicity and information bureaux are an important part of public relations history and identity because they represent the departmentalization of PR within organizations. Implications for PR historiography are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fill the research gap and expand the body of knowledge on leadership communication and internal communication, the current study investigates the effect of leader motivating language on psychological safety, job meaningfulness, and psychological availability, and employee advocacy in the United States and India. Through a web survey of 441 participants from the U.S and 354 participants from India, the study confirmed that leader motivating language is positively related with psychological safety, job meaningfulness, psychological availability, and employee advocacy in the United States and India. The study also looked at the relationship that psychological safety, work meaningfulness, and psychological availability have with employee advocacy, a concept that has been described as an indicator of public relations effectiveness and the ultimate test of a relationship between an organization and its employees. • LML is positively related with psychological safety, job meaningfulness, psychological availability, and employee advocacy. • Work meaningfulness had a positive relationship with advocacy behaviors in both countries. • Psychological availability had a positive relationship with advocacy in India but not in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on relations and networks in both public diplomacy and public relations have been focusing on the project implementation. Largely ignored is the foundational stage of resource gathering before implementation that also involves relationship management. This paper applies the social network analysis to examine the 100,000 Strong partnership network for study abroad in China that facilitates the transaction of necessary resources to support US public diplomacy implementation. The findings of the research suggest that the 100,000 Strong Foundation, as the network builder, has successfully established channels to mobilize resources through opportunity recognition, information arbitrage, and innovativeness creation. Other network actors also obtained various levels of power from the network structure, which may ultimately contribute to public diplomacy. This study offers a new theoretical and methodological framework to study relations and networks in public diplomacy and public relations, while informing some practical insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the litigation ramifications of apologies given during a crisis. Examining federal and state laws on the evidentiary issues affecting apology, this study shows that in 38 jurisdictions apologies are not admitted into evidence at trial if the apology contains certain characteristics. From this analysis practical suggestions are given to PR practitioners on how to craft legally protected apologies during a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public affairs and lobbying is a high status and strategically vital public relations specialism. It is a field of PR practice that generates high levels of both scholarly and public concern in regard to its perceived role in supporting corporate power and the associated impact on the functional legitimacy of democratic institutions. For this paper a content analysis was conducted of academic journals (between 2000 and 2013) to provide insights into how public affairs and lobbying have been theorised and researched within public relations scholarship and to ascertain to what degree wider public concerns have been addressed. Findings include an empirical confirmation of the low level of research activity on public affairs; that stakeholder and rhetorical theories have been the most widely used theories, but are far from constituting dominant paradigms; that scholarship has privileged functional objectives over civic concerns; and that published work originates almost entirely from institutions in Europe and the US with the Global South invisible. The paper also discusses future directions for research in public affairs and advocates the placing of discourse into definitions of public affairs, and that academic public relations should assert responsibility for this field, but in a manner that more equitably balances organisational and societal concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores recent lawsuits surrounding social media ownership in the United States and United Kingdom. Because social media has become a valuable tool for public relations, many organizations now claim an ownership interest in their employees’ social media accounts. This article explores three recent cases (two in the U.S. and one in the U.K.) that involve social media ownership issues. An overview of these cases is presented, and suggestions are made for PR practitioners, agencies, and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of U.S. press coverage of propaganda indicates that the term propaganda had a largely negative connotation in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Propaganda’s association with religious, political, and grassroots organizations is identified and discussed. This analysis concludes that Edward Bernays’s assertion that propaganda was a neutral term for PR practice prior to 1918 is inaccurate. Implications for PR historiography are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This pilot study asked corporate public relations executives and practitioners in the largest publicly traded corporations in the United States about their involvement in developing and/or publicizing the anonymous, internal whistleblowing channel to report financial fraud mandated by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, their awareness of wrongdoing, their reporting of wrongdoing, their view of their responsibility to report wrongdoing, and the consequences of reporting wrongdoing. The study found that two-thirds of respondents worked for corporations with the anonymous whistleblowing channel; only one-fifth helped develop it; almost two-thirds helped publicize it; almost half knew of wrongdoing during their careers or knew someone who did; two-thirds of those who knew about wrongdoing reported it; more than three-quarters who reported said reporting was not part of their job; virtually all who reported did so internally; almost two-thirds of those reported through chain-of-command channels; and one-third of those who reported (and were identified) suffered retaliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the impact on community pharmacy service development of a faculty-student-pharmacist collaborative program offered by five U.S. colleges.Setting: Colleges of pharmacy and community pharmacies in Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Utah, and West Virginia.Practice Description: Partner for Promotion (PFP) is an elective, longitudinal advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) focused on enhancement of community pharmacy management skills, specifically the development and implementation of direct patient care services. This faculty-student-pharmacist collaborative model has been implemented in five U.S. colleges of pharmacy beyond the originating institution.Evaluation: Data on pharmacy demographics and the impact of PFP on service creation and longevity at these partnering schools were reported via annual online surveys completed by faculty directors at each partnering college of pharmacy.Results: Over a 3-year period, 19 pharmacy teams across five states worked to create a total of 15 direct patient care services, 12 of which were still being offered to patients at the time of data collection (80% longevity). The PFP program guided 38 students through the process of developing and implementing a sustainable service at a community pharmacy. All participating faculty from partnering colleges of pharmacy (100%) indicated that PFP model materials were "very useful" (4-point Likert scale; 1, not useful, to 4, very useful), and all five colleges plan to continue offering the program moving forward.Conclusion: The PFP model of training and service development can have a positive impact on the pharmacy profession, serve as an avenue for training students in the development of clinical services, and be a catalyst for establishing the growth of community pharmacy as a patient-centered, service-oriented partner in the health care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines why recent telecommunications policy outcomes are diverging between the U.S. and Canada, notwithstanding the similarities in their common law and statutory law histories. The consequences of this divergence are profound. As technology transitions within the public switched telecommunications network proceed, the U.S. imposes fewer obligations on broadband and Internet service providers and provides a much-diminished level of consumer protection relative to that in Canada. The role of differing administrative procedures and policymaking forums is an important factor contributing to recent policy divergence. Historical analysis also reveals the importance of the role of path dependence from some early differences in U.S. and Canadian policy choices made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These differences in early policy choices emerged from (1) differences in federalism structures between the U.S. and Canada; (2) negation of Bell patents in Canada that triggered an earlier era of telephony competition as well as both federal and provincial policy experimentation; and (3) AT&T׳s unique public relations campaign of regulated monopoly developed in the U.S. in response to this earlier policy experimentation in Canada. AT&T׳s public relations campaign has induced a false memory in the U.S. – not found in Canada – as to the origins of regulated monopoly for telephony. This false memory has contributed to the efficacy of telecommunications carriers׳ false monopoly theory argument – that their historical duties have been based on the existence of monopoly, and thus are not applicable in a competitive environment – which has and continues to distort telecommunications policy development in the U.S. including the network neutrality debate. Yet, telecommunications carriers׳ dual status as common carriers and public utilities under the common law has created confusion in both the U.S. and Canada. This confusion has created a tendency to misattribute the duty to serve to the existence of monopoly, providing a different — although still historically flawed — basis for asserting a monopoly theory argument for the purpose of eliminating regulation. This confusion, however, is more easily corrected in Canada where there was no comparable public relations campaign of regulated monopoly for proponents of deregulation to leverage. The resonance of early policy differences between the U.S. and Canada illustrates the complexity of pursuing telecommunications policy debates within multi-jurisdictional legal frameworks — a challenge that the European Union currently faces in developing a Telecommunications Single Market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars in the U.S. generally agree that the origins of corporate public relations correspond to the rise of the U.S. Industrial Revolution during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This essay explores the under-theorized relationship between ideology and public relations by examining the role of the corporate voice in public relations history. Evidence suggests that public relations counsel, serving as the corporate voice, created messages that produced and reproduced certain ideological meanings about the corporation. These ideological meanings provided important guidance on how members of the public should think about, relate to, and experience the corporation as a necessary, natural and benevolent organization in society. By incorporating ideological theory as an analytical tool to study public relations history, this article explores an important, but not often studied aspect of public relations history – the development and use of the corporate voice as a site of ideological production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] PR educators’ work calling and organizational identification influence work meaningfulness. [•] Findings stress the discipline's division on importance of practical experience and research. [•] A practice orientation leads to a stronger PR calling but not a calling to academia. [•] Those with theory/research identification have less calling to the PR profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Findings were similar to a study of European PR practitioners. [•] Five PR roles were found. [•] Management roles: Negotiator and policy advisor. [•] Staff roles: Brand officer, internal communicator, and press agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Developed a strategic communication definition to meet measurable objectives in a realistic timeframe. [•] Rethought the relationship/strategic communications matrix. [•] Vertical axis of model included influence, trust, transparency satisfaction, and commitment. [•] Horizontal axis was publics’ perceptions, expectations, and measurable objectives, message design, tactics and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Traditional public diplomacy is transforming. [•] We examine the U.S. Embassy's public diplomatic communication via social media. [•] We use the methods of content analysis and interview. [•] Experience-sharing and relationship-building is the core of new public diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Inside Nazi Germany is a screen magazine, which anticipates tactics used by others documentaries made during World War II. [•] Inside Nazi Germany is an example of the Louis de Rochemont's creation of a film discourse in public relations field. [•] Inside Nazi Germany is a good example of ethical propaganda in front of Nazi's black propaganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A central hypothesis of Child Development Accounts (CDA) suggests that savings accounts in childhood lay a foundation for connecting to mainstream banking institutions and diversifying asset portfolios in young adulthood and beyond. While children may have limited savings to invest initially, they are financial actors who may increasingly invest money into different types of savings products over time. This paper uses propensity score weighted, longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its supplements to examine the types of financial and nonfinancial assets owned by young adults and whether or not they are more likely to own these assets when they have savings accounts as children. The most commonly owned assets in young adulthood included savings accounts (89%), vehicles (54%) and credit cards (51%). Smaller percentages owned stocks (9%), bonds (6%), and homes (8%). On average, young adults owned two to three different assets. Having savings accounts in childhood was associated with being two times more likely to own savings accounts, two times more likely to own credit cards, and four times more likely to own stocks in young adulthood, compared to not having savings accounts in childhood. Young adults' ownership of more total financial assets was also associated with having savings accounts in childhood. Findings provide some supporting evidence of demand for children's savings accounts. Policy endeavors that remove barriers to account ownership may be advantageous for children and mainstream banks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] The personal influence model is common in Asian nations. [•] A few authors have argued that the model is universal and can be seen in the U.S. [•] These practices are not documented because U.S. historians focused on persuasion. [•] In early U.S. society, interpersonal communication was predominant over persuasion. [•] A few examples of personal influence in early U.S. history are included here. [•] With social media, personal influence can help restore relationship building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study uses content analysis of 420 Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil award-winning campaigns to assess how well the ROPES process of campaign management has been institutionalized into the public relations industry. By analyzing 42 years of award-winning campaigns, the research found notable trends in relation to the research practices, goal and objective planning, strategy design and implementation, campaign evaluation, and on-going efforts to cultivate relationships with stakeholders. These trends are discussed in relation to the continued struggles of public relations educators to professionalize the industry and move away from stereotypes as publicity seekers and special event planners. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Can we construct transnational or international public service advertising to counterbalance the proliferation of transnational commercial advertising? As an important first step in exploring the possibility of such an application of shared media public diplomacy among nations, this paper describes a complete survey of commercial and public service advertisements collected from the public spaces of subway systems in American and Chinese cities in 2010 – New York, Washington, DC, Shanghai and Beijing – to reveal the range of themes of commercial and public service ads in these spaces. The study reveals first that analogous commercial and public service ads are ubiquitous in the public spaces of both Chinese and American cities. Second, many of the themes that might appear in international or transnational public service ads are already being portrayed in ads created by local or national governments or NGOs, although these themes are portrayed in ads created by different sets of actors in China and in the US: government actors and a few international NGOs in Chinese cities, and governments, corporations and non-profit organizations in the case of American cities. Finally, the survey reveals that in all four cities there are many commercial advertisements that appeal to the identity of a transnational consumer, but that there are almost no public service ads that appeal to the identity of a transnational citizen: merely local or national ones who can solve such public problems as global warming, education, and health issues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study advances our understanding of relationship cultivation on social media from a cross-cultural perspective. We examined how companies use popular social network sites (SNSs) to facilitate dialogues with publics in two culturally distinct countries: China and the United States. We employed a content analysis of 50 corporate pages with 500 corporate posts and 500 user posts from each country. Overall, companies in both countries have recognized the importance of SNSs in relationship development and employed the appropriate online strategies (disclosure, information dissemination, and interactivity and involvement), but the specific tactics vary across the two markets. Furthermore, cultural differences among the types of corporate posts and public posts on SNSs indicate that culture plays a significant role in shaping the dialogue between organizations and publics in different countries. Implications for corporate relationship management practice in the global market in the digital era are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The underlying assumption is that a gradual change in economic and financial power will also lead to changes in ‘soft power’ like media communication, public relations, public opinion, public diplomacy and (new and old) media consumption. In other words, culture and mass communication play a significant role in shaping the dialogue between organizations and publics in different countries in general, and between the US and China in particular. New ways to conceptualize and study Public Relations and News, Public Diplomacy, International Communication, and Crisis Communication are being introduced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research sought to explain the agency of U.S.-based nonprofit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the U.S. standing abroad, and explore the NGO role in the U.S. public diplomacy. A multiple-case study method was used to look at five 501(c)(3) organizations that receive predominantly private funding and operate globally. The data gathered from in-person interviews and corporate documentation were compared between cases, and synthesized across cases using the theory-building technique. While U.S. standing affects American NGOs’ practices and discourses, American NGOs’ behavior might have a bearing on the attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of international publics about the United States. Both the NGO-owned state identities and American NGOs’ reputation for autonomy and freedom of expression enhance the U.S. public diplomacy efforts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article elaborates on the argument that the history of U.S. public relations has been distorted by the emphasis on corporate functions of public relations. The dominant corporate-centric view of U.S. public relations history often claim that public relations developed as a response to activists who attempted to interfere with business operations. That myopic, corporate-centric view has perpetuated a negative view of public relations as merely a tool of “big business”. In the past as well as the present, corporations have been learning from and co-opting activists’ innovative public relations techniques. By alternatively grounding U.S. public relations history in the works of activists, we open possibilities for re-imagining the field and legitimizing activists’ works as a positive, central component in public relations theory and research. We end by providing resources educators can utilize to teach a more balanced view of public relations history in the U.S. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

When used appropriately, congregate care placements can provide children in foster care with the structure and treatment services they need. However, children are often placed in congregate care when their needs can be met in family settings, a practice that contradicts the child welfare mandate to place children in the least restrictive environment possible. In 2000, a class action lawsuit filed against the State of Tennessee highlighted that the state routinely placed children in congregate care settings contrary to their best interests. Since then, the state''s Department of Children''s Services (DCS) has been extremely successful in reducing its use of congregate care. This paper presents major findings from a qualitative research study that explored how DCS accomplished this critical system change. Fifty-one Tennessee child welfare stakeholders were interviewed using an open ended protocol. DCS administrative data, performance monitoring data, and official policy documents were also analyzed to provide context for the interviewees'' comments. Analysis of interview transcripts revealed three main change agents that helped set the stage for deinstitutionalization, as well as three types of systemwide reforms that were undertaken to ensure a successful reduction in congregate care use. Implications for jurisdictions embarking on similar reforms are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As an organizational function, internal communication is gaining in importance, meriting a special issue on the topic. This importance is evident in many recent efforts among practitioners in Europe and the US to seek recognition of this field as an independent domain. Scholarship on internal communication has not kept pace with these initiatives. This introduction to the special issue addresses several key issues related to this topic and presents findings from a Delphi study of the leaders of European associations on internal communication. Results of the study are fuzzy: respondents see internal communication as interdisciplinary management function integrating elements of human resources management, communication and marketing, but at the same time they see it primarily as a part of the organization''s communication function that is simultaneously managerial and technical. However, they contend that internal communication is an independent research field. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper contributes to the analysis of the interplay of public relations and news in crisis situations, and the conceptualization of strategic framing by introducing the idea of associative frames and the method of semantic network analysis to the PR research field. By building on a more advanced understanding of communication as process of social meaning construction that is embedded in networks of differential relations between different actors, it contributes to extend the perspective of first- and second-order agenda building towards a kind of “third order” or “network agenda building”. Via an automated content analysis of more than 3700 articles we examine agenda- and frame-differences between public relations, UK and US news in the BP crisis. The study documents that BP successfully applied a decoupling strategy: It dissociated itself from being responsible for the cause and at the same time presented itself as solvent of the crisis. It shows that in crises, associative frames in PR resonate partly to associative frames in news. Especially the US news followed BP and did not succeed in presenting political actors as solution providers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The study reviews FCC policy about identifying the source of video news releases (VNRs) and looks at the activist efforts of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) to affect policy. The FCC rules about VNR use are clear: stations are not obligated to identify the source of footage taken from video news releases if there are no sponsorship issues (payment for placement) unless VNRs concern political or controversial issues. The basic argument is whether source identification of VNR material should be self-regulated by journalists or regulated by the government as advocated by the CMD. The study looks at efforts of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) to affect the practice of public relations through pressure to regulate video news releases by examining discourse and calls for action on the CMD Web site, responses by other organizations including the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), and resulting FCC actions in order to examine the role of activism in the VNR debate. It found CMD efforts influenced the debate by serving an issues activation and agenda-setting function that resulted in news coverage and triggered an FCC investigation of VNR use, but was not successful in the attempt to change policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Student-run communications agencies mimic professional public relations and advertising agencies by providing students with a professional environment in which to work on real projects for real clients. This study involved a survey of agency advisers at AEJMC universities and ACEJMC-accredited universities to evaluate the attributes, structure, and perceived student learning outcomes of agencies in the U.S. Though agencies vary greatly in how they are structured and managed, this study suggests student agencies in general are indeed beneficial to student learning, particularly in the areas of skills application and professionalism. Despite the benefit to students, agencies receive little funding relative to other campus media and agency advisers often receive limited support for the required time commitment. Agency organization, adviser time commitment, and agency facilities are examined in regard to their impact on agency protocols and perceptions of student learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In-depth interviews were conducted among 32 adjunct public relations instructors across the U.S. to discover their unique contributions in preparing today''s undergraduates for entry-level positions. Research questions probed teaching philosophy, practice-to-classroom transition, and any challenges faced. Amidst adjuncts’ voices, two overarching themes emerged – omnipresent economic forces, and academic/practitioner dichotomy. Findings fill a significant gap in the public relations body of knowledge and offer several suggestions for further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) dictates a process of analyzing and disclosing the likely impacts of proposed agency actions on the human environment. This study addresses two key questions related to NEPA implementation in the U.S. Forest Service: 1) how do Interdisciplinary (ID) team leaders and decision makers conceptualize the outcomes of NEPA processes? And 2), how does NEPA relate to agency decision making? We address these questions through two separate online surveys that posed questions about recently completed NEPA processes – the first with the ID team leaders tasked with carrying out the processes, and the second with the line officers responsible for making the processes'' final decisions. Outcomes of NEPA processes include impacts on public relations, on employee morale and team functioning, on the achievement of agency goals, and on the achievement of NEPA''s procedural requirements (disclosure) and substantive intent (minimizing negative environmental impacts). Although both tended to view public relations outcomes as important, decision makers'' perceptions of favorable outcomes were more closely linked to the achievement of agency goals and process efficiency than was the case for ID team leaders. While ID team leaders'' responses suggest that they see decision making closely integrated with the NEPA process, decision makers more commonly decoupled decision making from the NEPA process. These findings suggest a philosophical difference between ID team leaders and decision makers that may pose challenges for both the implementation and the evaluation of agency NEPA. We discuss the pros and cons of integrating NEPA with decision making or separating the two. We conclude that detaching NEPA from decision making poses greater risks than integrating them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Image Restoration Discourse, Situational Crisis Communication Theory, and related crisis-response models tend to involve charges leveled at entities: individuals or organizations. In The New Rhetoric, Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca suggest an important mid-ground: stakeholder concerns regarding aberrant actions of a member of a larger public. Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca''s “techniques of severance and restraint” comprise 11 strategies for countering the possible effects of an aberrant member''s acts on the image and reputation of a larger public. This article will explore those techniques through an examination of how the National Review Online, the Web site complement of National Review magazine, responded to columnist Christopher Buckley''s endorsement of Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this article is to advance in a hidden part of public relations history: the Archibald MacLeish''s ‘strategy of truth’ and its implementation to film industry to influence American public opinion. The attempts during the Second World War to fight the enemy through factual propaganda also found, in the film industry, the ideal medium to offset the enemy''s propagandising audiovisual products, particularly Nazi propaganda. For this reason, the government drew up the Government Information Manual for the Motion Picture Industry (1942) following the line established by the Office of Facts and Figures and Archibald MacLeish''s ‘strategy of truth’. Thus, the Manual for the Motion Picture Industry became a good example of the use of ethical propaganda. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The Framingham Heart Study (henceforth Framingham) is among the gold standards for epidemiological research. Being a prospective cohort study of 5,000+ men and women, it provided early findings about the causes of coronary heart disease (CHD), following a cohort over the course of 24 years. After US government funding ended, the tobacco industry funded Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) provided continued funding for analyses related to smoking.Objective: This study sought to understand the tobacco industry's motivation and activities in funding Framingham.Study Design and Setting: We analyzed previously undisclosed tobacco industry documents, conducting iterative searches of the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/), and assembled a historical case study.Results: CTR funded Framingham to obtain full access to Framingham data. CTR planned for long-time industry consultant Carl Seltzer to reanalyze them to suggest that tobacco-related morbidity and mortality primarily resulted from "constitutional" factors, such as age or ethnicity. Once data were obtained, CTR terminated funding for the Framingham principal investigator, who disagreed with Seltzer. Seltzer's critical analyses of subsequently published work by the Framingham team created confusion about the association between CHD and cigarette smoking.Conclusion: Researchers accepting tobacco industry funding risk losing control of data, analysis, and publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]